RWANDA-BACKED rebels have captured large parts of eastern Congo’s largest city, including its airport, the United Nations said today, as Rwandan President Paul Kagame joined calls for a ceasefire in the decades-long conflict.

Much of Goma was calm early this morning, after a day during which thousands of fleeing people crouched down by roadsides as missiles flew and injured people streamed to overwhelmed hospitals.

While government forces still control pockets of the city, residents told reporters on Tuesday that the M23 rebel group controlled most of it.

The M23 rebels, who claimed to have captured Goma on Monday after a weeks-long advance, are one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

The conflict escalated with the rebels’ advance into the city, which left dead bodies on the streets and drove hundreds of thousands of already displaced people to flee once again.

After clashing with government forces, the rebels took control of the airport, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a briefing on Tuesday, warning of the “risks of a breakdown of law and order in the city, given the proliferation of weapons.”

Mr Kagame said on social media today that he had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on “the need to ensure a ceasefire and address the root causes of the conflict once and for all.”

His government denies supporting M23, despite reports from UN experts who estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan troops in Congo. Rwanda has accused Congo of enlisting Hutu rebels and former militiamen, whom it blames for the 1994 genocide.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe has told reporters that Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi “will have to accept talks with M23” to bring an end to the conflict.

M23, made up primarily of ethnic Tutsis, has said it plans to set up an administration in the city so that people can continue living normal lives and the displaced can return home.

Analysts have warned that securing a rebel withdrawl could be more difficult than in 2012, when M23 first captured Goma but withdrew days later.

Murithi Mutiga, programme director for Africa at the Crisis Group, said that the group has become more emboldened by Rwanda, which feels that Congo is ignoring its interests in the region and has accused its neighbour of failing to comply with previous peace agreements.